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London Liberal MP Peter Fragiskatos tables his first proposed law

London MP Peter Fragiskatos (London-North-Centre) during a press conference to announce a private members bill to make torture committed by a private citizen a crime in the criminal code during a press conference at the London Abused Women's Centre on Wednesday March 2, 2016.
MORRIS LAMONT / THE LONDON FREE PRESS / POSTMEDIA NETWORK

Good timing and strong campaigning got London professor Peter Fragiskatos elected to Ottawa last fall.

Neither could have prepared the rookie Liberal MP for how quickly he was tossed into the thick of it, when, hours after arriving on Parliament Hill, he pretty much won the political equivalent of a lottery.

A private member’s bill is Ottawa-speak for a proposed law put forward by a member of Parliament. It’s how individual politicians can make a dent in the corridors of power.

But unbeknownst to most Canadians is a peculiar system in the House of Commons: The nearly 300 MPs who aren’t cabinet members are put in a lottery, which assigns them a number dictating when they can put forward a private member’s bill.

Like all good Canadians, the MPs must wait patiently for their turn, even though, for those selected beyond No. 200, it may never come.

Fragiskatos, a 34-year-old professor at Western’s King’s University College, arrived at Parliament Hill as London North Centre’s representative in early December.

The same day, he realized he’d drawn No. 9 in the queue.

No time to get comfortable. No time to get settled. No time to waste if he wanted to make a dent.

“I do not take this stroke of good luck lightly,” he said Wednesday, noting some MPs go an entire term without getting such a chance.

Fragiskatos says he knew exactly what he’d pursue in his first true act as an elected official.

As early as age 10, he says he had a copy of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights on the bedroom wall of his childhood home in Exeter. Human rights were a focus of his PhD studies at the University of Cambridge.

And one case in particular stood out to him: It involved an Alberta man named Dustin Paxton, who was convicted in 2012 of aggravated assault and sexual assault for the 18-month abuse of a roommate who was left with brain damage.

Fragiskatos brought the case up to students while teaching about human rights in London.

Now, as a rookie lawmaker, it motivated him to propose a new law.

Torture is a crime in Canada, but only if it’s committed by “the state.” (For example, if a police officer beats on a suspect for hours seeking information, he can be charged with torture.)

“There are many . . . cases, including in London, where offences far exceeding what is implied by ‘aggravated assault’ took place. In fact, these are all cases of torture,” Fragiskatos said.

“When suffering goes unacknowledged, justice cannot be said to exist.”

These kinds of acts, such as the one for which Paxton was convicted, are already punished by the courts, albeit not as torture. Fragiskatos, though, bristled when asked whether his proposal is an echo of Harper-esque, tough-on-crime politicking.

Not so, he says, noting he’s not calling for a mandatory minimum sentence.

“This bill is not . . . primarily about punishment. It’s about acknowledging the human rights abuses that have taken place,” he said.

“If you look at (specific) cases . . . it’s not aggravated assault. These offences far exceed aggravated assault. That (conviction) does not really match with the offence, the violation of human rights that’s taken place.”

The rookie’s first run through the political mill began in January.

Preparing for his first flash of Ottawa spotlight, he sought advice from fellow rookie MPs Brenda Shanahan and Bill Blair, Toronto’s former police chief.

He leaned on veteran bureaucrats for guidance.

Then, last Friday, he had one minute in the House of Commons — no more is allowed — to present his proposal to make torture committed by private citizens a crime under the Criminal Code.

“It’s very humbling,” he said of the experience.

And stressful, no doubt. Afterward, he went out for a celebratory drink with his staff.

So, now what happens to so-called Bill C-242?

The introduction technically counts as the first reading. A second reading, with a House of Commons vote, is expected by next month.

It must then pass a third reading vote.

Per procedure, it then goes through the Senate where, if approved, it is given “royal ascent” — and thus, becomes law.

He detailed the bill in a speech Wednesday at the London Abused Women’s Centre. He argued the majority of assault cases that should be deemed torture target females.

“Thank you for standing with us and not against us,” said Stephanie Bates, the Centre’s board chairperson.

Even if it successfully goes through Ottawa’s political mill, it could be three years before the bill becomes law.

In the grand scheme of Canada’s national government, this one private member’s bill is relatively small. But Fragistakos believes it has meaning, especially for victims of crime.

His political career barely started, Fragiskatos admits he won’t forget this experience.

“For that one minute, I’ll never feel those emotions again,” he said of introducing the bill. “I’m actually living up (for the first time) to the idea that I’m a lawmaker. It’s humbling.”

Bill C-242

Torture is a crime in the Criminal Code, but only if it’s committed by “the state” (such as a police officer beating on a suspect for hours).

London MP Peter Fragiskatos has tabled a proposed law that would make torture a criminal charge for incidents involving ordinary citizens (many such cases result in aggravated assault convictions, which carry a maximum 14-year sentence).

Fragiskatos wants torture “in the private sphere” to carry a maximum life sentence.

His bill defines torture as “the intentional and repeated infliction of severe and prolonged pain or suffering onto another human being for the purposes of intimidation or coercion.”

— It’s been introduced on Parliament Hill; it must pass two more readings in the House of Commons, then go through the Senate before becoming law.